Mitch Albom on New Book Exploring Faith

"Tuesdays with Morrie" author Mitch Albom talks with WSJ's Andy Regal about his new book "The First Phone Call From Heaven."

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

I ... Mr. Dell is here he has sold thirty five million books worldwide most notably Tuesdays with Morrie ... the new book the first phone call from heaven ... is available now were very pleased to have you here now for purposes of full disclosure ... I bought ... Tuesday's with Morrie back in the nineteen ninety seven ... read it and then ... bought ... twenty more books ... for family and friends part of the thirty five million ... ok you've done ... you've done a lot since then the sun usually what they mean by the Bledisloe ... I ... but knowing that you've been somewhat since then you're still really known for that ... for that particular work is that okay with the yes absolutely ... I'm proud to be ... affiliated with Susan's of Morey ... of all the things that I've gone are written I believe it was the thing I did ... most for the right reason it was written in Demorest medical bills ... that's all we ever intended audience that they're trying to write a bestseller ... um in fact I thought of you know this'll come out ... with pretty twenty thousand copies nobody expected to sell most people turn it down when we tried to get it to you know that sell papers bills ... how's that go back to sport right ... so everything that has happened since has been a blessing from that book and I am absolutely fine ... knowing that that's probably going to be the biggest thing I've ever written in my life for the most well received first phone call from having does have some through themes that we've seen in your other works ... death and loss and the kind of longing to reconnect with those that are part ... way ... tell me why that's so important in your work those things well I mean I think ever since chooses to Morrie of most of the new things and sort of ... fascinated me you know ... no different than if John Grisham was saying sitting here and it's a was or was a loitering yearbooks a on it ... it's kind of a world that I work and and aam ... but I don't write about that I mean I can take a little exception to that to me people write about that ... write books about serial killers and eight described the Philippines last in the heart being pulled out the blood covering every bite that's that ... aam are about life ... this is the frequently buying by the use sticky the specter of death or but that's to reflect back of its most people don't tend to think about what's really precious and life than to remind them that they're not can have it forever ... so that it's it's it's like oh it's a me or for May ... and it is in this new book is what ... he was a little plot summary it's okay ... the short version is that a small town in northern Michigan one-day wakes up ... and the phones start ringing and its people calling from have added their voices and are saying what heaven is like ... only only happens to a handful of people only happens in this one town nowhere else on the planet ... when the news leaks out this is happening people start slowly converging on to this town for if other people hear about the miracles and then the media starts getting interested in bigger and bigger ... than at the same time there's a guy who lives there who said of our protagonist is heartbroken is white is guiding these reasons of seven year old son ... and a seven year old son scaring around a toy phone saying ... Daddy when his mommy the McCall is because everyone else is getting calls ... and he gets so angry at this as he doesn't want people giving us some false hope because he doesn't believe in anything anymore and wanted some too ... so he sets out to prove that this is the folks ... at it sets up the sort of Convergent storyline where the deeper he gets into with the closer it gets that ... may be proving it is a hoax ... the bigger the story gets the larger news until finally culminates ... this a couple days before Christmas is gonna be an international broadcast live ... of a phone call from heaven once and for all been approved that there is an afterlife ... injustices about to happen ... he seems to stumble on what the truth is out of them I'll stop myself is to ... read the book at all I can only their second win and you knew my life people are coming up to all the time talking to about similar circumstances ... people were dying in their lives in software and I wanna share with you and wonder what you might think that I have a wonderful friend who has a great family he's having successful he's a defense attorney renowned in fact his son is a war hero ... and yet he said in a not too long ago you know and am ready to die ... because I wanna see my mother ... and I'm wondering if you hear these stories all the time and in what it was in ... the ... playroom Altana to bring the right reasons Maury ... as a meat and once told me you're about to become everybody's Rabbi and Menino you do to some degree of but you know that was part of the inspiration for this book because I've met people who have said things like ... you know my daughter died and I went into her room after the funeral I sat on the bed analysis crying all the sudden ... her picture fell off the Bureau of land on the floor and I know what that was her ... she was sending me a message ... now I could bring in a physicist portends scientists who could explain all those actual shuffle nearer to know that the most fixer sooner or later a pic this fall ... would make a difference ... to her ... that was me or go to her that was a mess in my view one that is ... if it's a miracle to you ... its mayor ... the half to be everybody else to do you believe that they somehow fortified your belief ... would strengthen your faith ... that's enough to you've lost loved ones ... Pall has all of this work and the experiences you have the people on the road no swear affected your thought process in regards to our mortality ... I think aam a little less afraid of death for myself that I was summoned for I encountered Mori ... um let's just seen so much of the mock it's inevitable that come to accept ... I happen to you would think I would but I haven't ... gotten any more use to losing my own loved ones ... um it's still hard and still Harper and I still don't want to happen ... um my mother suffered ... multiple strokes about three years ago when I began to think about this book ... and last ability to speak ... and ... she was such a whirlwind talker in all my communication skills like it from her in all this into silent and Masi still alive ... and I can visit her and Holder Hannah much or she knows it's me enough of her body's here ... but without the voice ... it's just not the same experience ... and I find myself thinking back to when email was invented in I started singing you gotta get the skinny mocha second seen these email messages in with the pup ... and she said I don't want that ... someone accessible if you will call me anymore no one hear your voice and I thought olive sold that ... and now she's exactly right you know that human voice ... so precious I know people who save cellphone messages from people would die because it's when it was even the things I mean it's it's over party you know ... that's the message but they wanna listen to it over our ... sights of the concept of the boys ... and I mixed it and was for the history the telephone a few other things and it became this beautiful I think of the really beautiful story about how we hang on to ... even ... the thinnest of things that connect this to people and I do I am absolutely no different if you think twenties is a more even books could be some kind of like free pass ... that the sensitivity of dying war or those in some way You're wrong if ... I cry just as much as everybody else ... Mattel the book is the first phone call from heaven ... as far along she was a was a once great thank you ...